One Step Behind
by TaleForge
Summary: My first ever Fanfic. A foray into the world of preCalm Spira. The chronicles of three buddies on their quest to, you guessed it, save the world. Running concurrently with the FFX story, but with little canon interaction. Please be frank with your reviews
1. Prologue: Trouble at the Luca Stadium!

Hi all. This is my first Fan Fiction, so please go easy on me. It runs concurrently with the FFX game, so I don't feel I need a detailed explanation of the back story. So legal terms, Square Enix, yada yada. Enjoy.

On a side note, this has as little to do with the canon characters as possible. The timeline remains intact, and I think the characters may end up being mentioned anyway, but it is an original story with original characters. (At least I hope.) The action takes place at the same time as the story, so enjoy an alternate view of the events in the game.

**One Step Behind**

_The story of a summoner that was just too late._

"Jonas, Jonas... Wake up!"

Jonas bolted upright, and then drooped his eyes and slumped into a seated position, not quite awake. Squinting his eyes to the light, his gaze fell upon the person standing next to him.

"Huh? Wha'… wha habbin?" he slurred, "Why ya go' ah wake meh so early…"

The figure shook him, "Jonas! Wake up, darn you, it's almost noon! We're gonna be late! Earth to Jonas, I'm gonna smack you one if you don't get dressed and out the door."

Realization finally unclouded Jonas' drowsy mind and he leaped out of bed.

"Arthas! By Yevon's grace, why didn't you wake me up sooner!" he demanded as he scrambled around his room, gathering his possessions and wrestling with his clothes. "I should have been out of here a while ago and (Stupid pants!) there were people I needed to see. Why couldn't you have come earlier? Where are my shoes?"

"What, you think I'm your baby sitter?" Arthas replied, tossing items into a bag, "I've been trying to wake you up for the better part of a half-hour; you sleep like a frickin' rock! You're shoes are at the foot of your bed, like they always were. Sheesh."

After a few minutes of fumbling, panicking, and more than a few curses on both parts, the duo burst out of the house and began rushing down the streets of Luca. They stopped at the house of one of their mutual friends. Jonas knocked on the door and waited. After a little while, the door creaked open.

"Gettin' jittery about traveling, kiddies?" the kid said. He was no older than the other two, but was noticeably smaller and skinnier. "Why are you carrying your stuff around already?"

"What are you talking about?" Jonas asked, "We need to go! The journey, my training? You aren't ready either?"

Sain opened the door all the way, shaking his head.

"Of course I have my stuff together!" he said, his tone carrying a slight hint of condescension, "I've been ready for awhile, but the thing is this: You guys are aware that you guys are early, right?" Of course, the puzzled look on his friends' face spoke volumes for Sain, "Arthas, you woke him up, didn't you? Swear to Yevon, I definitely need to buy you a calendar. We decided to leave _tomorrow_, not today! Please try to remember; Jonas wanted to leave as soon as possible, but you _had_ to see the tournament today, so we decided to postpone the trip a few days so you could see your stupid game. Any of this ringing a bell?"

Jonas nodded, "Oh, geez! He's right! We didn't see the tournament! How embarrassing."

Sain tried to suppress a chuckle, and then checked his pocket watch. "Well at least Arthas managed to get you awake before nine." He looked up at his two blushing friends, and waved them in. "I'll get ready to leave; you two just make yourselves comfortable."

"Nine?" Jonas said incredulously, "Arthas, didn't you say it was almost noon."

"Apparently, I will also need to find Arthas a watch too."

"Shut it." Was the only contribution Arthas made to the conversation.

V

The crowd was going nuts. The blitzball season was starting off with a bang, and for the first time in over twenty years, the Aurochs seemed to actually be worth their salt.

Jonas and Arthas leapt out of their seats after the first round's come-from behind victory. Granted, they shouldn't have been cheering for another town's team, but by the end of that incredible match, they just couldn't help but be excited.

Sain, however, couldn't find it in him to be all that excited. Truthfully, stuff like this utterly bored him, so he spent the bulk of the match with his face buried in a book.

Not that long afterward, the finals rolled around, and the Goers were going up against, of all people, those blitzers from Besaid.

"C'mon Sain!" Arthas called, "Our team's up man! Can't you at least look pumped?"

Sain took a look at the field, taking off his half-moon spectacles. "No." he said simply, "Not when the teams are so mismatched."

Arthas was about to make an argument, but Jonas put a hand on his shoulder. "Art, the Goers are really losing!"

It was true. The switch-out for the Auroch's team leader did nothing to hurt the team. Luca put on a great fight, but they ended up losing by a single goal.

"Aw man!" Arthas complained, "The Aurochs had ta choose _this_ year to make their comeback! It's completely ridic- Sain?"

Sain rose to his feet, "Glad you guys brought your weapons today." He said simply.

Jonas opened his mouth, but was cut short by the sounds of screaming. "What? What's going on?"

"Fiends." Sain explained, stepping off of the bleacher onto the stairs. "You two were too engrossed in the match to notice."

Several of the wolf-like fiends had already bounded to their location, and many of the spectators were already panicking and running amuck. "Well then stop gawkin'!" Arthas proclaimed, "Let's kill some fiends!" Arthas drew his favorite weapon, (How he managed to get it into the stadium was anyone's guess.) a rusty rapier, and ran to block the fiends. "Hey you overgrown flea-bags! Over here!"

The wolves began charging and chasing anyone near by, on the whole completely ignoring him. "Hey, right here. Come on, you stupid dogs!"

One of the fiends got a thunderbolt in the back, which finally got a few of them looking that way. "Take notes Art." Sain said calmly, "Lupines can't speak English. So it goes without saying that yelling at them isn't gonna get their attention nearly as much as a stab to the back."

"You talk too much." Arthas bit back, "But now that their lookin' at us, can we kill 'em now?"

"Yes, yes, calm down." Sain cracked open his book, "No need to hyperventilate."

"I ain't hyperve-"

"Jonas!" Sain continued with no regard for Arthas, "I need you to… to, Jonas? Did he retreat?"

Arthas gave one cursory glance before returning his attention to the circling Lupines. "Maybe he's helpin' other people?"

"Whatever gets you to sleep at night, Art." He began reading lines of his spells. "Destruction incarnate, assail my enemies with your raging flames." He casually snapped his fingers, and one of the poor lupines burst into flames temporarily, whining and running in circles. A smile creased Sain's pale face, a slightly sadistic smile as he watched the creature burn. He so enjoyed watching things burn, but now was not the time. He returned to his spell book and began preparing another cantrip.

Arthas had already begun to attack, sliding his sword between the ribs of the closest wolf. He began moving on to the next target when he saw the pyreflies leave its body. He slashed and thrust, parried and pivoted, in a complex dance, his sword leading the way the whole time. His eyes rested on Sain, who was busy barbequing yet another wolf and suppressed a shudder. His friend could be quite scary when he began acting like this, though he wouldn't admit it to him.

Arthas leapt to the side, barely avoiding a fang to the leg. _If I've got time to think, then I've got time to fight. _He gave the wolf a sharp kick in the ribs and continued his mad dance.

V 

Jonas had figured out quite early that it was very difficult to be courteous when you were running for your life. He pushed through the panicked crowds, blurting out the occasional "Excuse me, pardon, one si- Ow! That was my leg! Pardon… 'Scuse me. Oh!" He sprawled sideways onto one of the now-empty bleachers. When he looked back up, his first sight was of a great serpentine creature staring at him and growling. He yelped and recoiled from the creature.

_Yojimbo! _He pleaded in his mind, _I need help! Help me please! _As if spurred by his thoughts, the creature took a step forward, and then froze. The whole area seemed to get darker, and everyone seemed still, except Jonas. Just as he managed to shakily rise to his feet, he heard a familiar sound, a dog barking. He whipped around to see Diagoro, Yojimbo's faithful dog, canter happily to Jonas' side.

"I-I'm glad to see you, boy." Jonas said, relief more than evident on his face, "But where is your master?"

The hound's only response to this was to let out a dull whine, then to drop a piece of paper he was somehow carrying on his back. Jonas picked it up, and after he had read it, he felt ready to almost cry.

Kid,

Went out to lunch. Sorry I couldn't be here when you needed me and what not, but hey! I'll owe you one if you live through this, so think of it as an I. O. U.

Take it easy now,

Yojimbo


	2. Chapter 1: Our Brave Hero?

**Chapter One**

_Our brave hero?_

"Di-Diagoro?" Jonas stammered, "You're still gonna help me, r-r-right? Dia-Di-Di…" he looked to where he knew the hound last was, and true to form, it was gone. He gave one despaired look to the paper in his hand, which seemed to have more writing:

P.S.: I'm taking my dog with me. He just came to deliver the letter, so that's out the window for you, kid.

P.P.S: By the time you finish reading the sentence after this one, the whole "creepy-time-freezing-calling-of-the-aeon-thing should just about wear off. So since you won't get to reading what comes next, how about a funny little anecdote? One time when I was in Gagazet….

The fiend finally stirred, just a little confused at Jonas' changed position. It tilted its head slightly and sniffed, then growled to get the quivering human's attention. Jonas' face drained of all color as he slowly turned his head to regard the noise. He reached slowly for his weapon, a crude club, which brought the fiend on edge. He barely had time to get it out of the loop before the monster charged.

Out of the corner of its eye, the fiend saw something approaching, heading for him. He began grinding to a halt, but it didn't realize its mistake until the object hit it square in the face. The fiend staggered, his vision blurring, and fell to its side stunned. Jonas didn't realize the fiend had been hit until it fell. The projectile went straight up from the monster's face, bounced for a bit when it hit the ground, and rolled to Jonas' feet. It was… a blitzball?

"_Rao!" _The shooter waved to him, one of the forwards from the Al Bhed Psyches. _"Yna oui ymm nekrd? Oui fana ypuid du pa fiend wuut drana! Hahaha"_

Jonas gave the Al Bhed the most sincere look of confusion he could've given in his state. Truthfully, he only understood the word "fiend", which was the only thing he said in English. He gave a feeble laugh, assuming the blitzer had just told a joke. "Um…," he said his next sentence slowly and loudly, "Thank…you…for...your…help! Do…you…speak…En-g-lish?"

"_Fryd?" _ The Al Bhed responded, _"E lyhhud ihtancdyht ouin funtc!" _ He sighed, knowing already this conversation was going to go nowhere. He spotted the fiend who was already getting over his dizziness and getting to his feet. _"Lremt!" _he warned pointing over Jonas' shoulder. _"Pareht oui!"_

Jonas whipped around, the pointing giving plenty translation. The fiend had already stood, and it was getting quite angry at these two. He barreled towards the cowardly human, his original target, but Jonas was just a bit faster. Screaming in a pitch not exactly what would be considered heroic, he swung for the monster's head with all his might, and felt the crack as wood connected with skull. But for all the strength put into the blow, the monster didn't go sprawling, as expected. To Jonas' credit, the fiend was quite stunned, and even went back a few feet. To the fiend's credit, his skull didn't break, and his senses returned to him quickly. He reared his head and used a technique he actually planned to save. Flames began to broil in his maw, and he released it in one giant fireball.

But before it could get close, it was intercepted. A giant slab of earth appeared right in the flame's path, and it stopped dead in its tracks.

"Honestly Jonas," Sain drawled, his book open and his next spell already on his mind, "If you just stayed with us, we would have been able to keep you safer." The wall of earth receded revealing a very annoyed fiend.

"S-Sain! Thank Yevon you're here! Where's Ar…" Before he could finish his sentence, he was suddenly aware of something _above _him. He looked up, and saw Arthas, who had leapt from the top bleacher with his sword pointed down at the monster. Before the poor fiend had any time to react, the sword plunged deep into the monster, which let out one feeble roar, thrashing about as his lifeblood spilled and the pyreflies flowed. Arthas pulled his rapier from the freshly made carcass, still in a squatting position from the landing.

"Miss me?" Arthas taunted, "Come on! I know you all wanted to see me save the day and what not. Let me hear you say it!"

Sain decided to humor him, "All right," he said sarcastically, "You're the great and mighty warrior who deserves a, quote, "Frickkin medal" en quote, because you can stab fiends with a couple meter's leverage. Now stand up and let's get out of here."

Arthas chuckled weakly, "There's a problem with that. Ya see that fall kinda took a bit outta me, and my legs are kinda numb, from the landin' ya know?"

Despite the chaos ensuing around them, Sain couldn't help but laugh at the utter silliness of it all. The long-ignored blitzer gave a little laugh, then muttered to himself,

"_Draca kioc yna lnywo, dudymmo lnwyo!" _


	3. Chapter Two: Enter the Maester

What do you know? Three chapters in and I decide to do a spat as one of the story's characters. He's not one of the original party though, so he doesn't count right?

Being more specific on the disclaimers; Jonas, Arthas and Sain are original characters, most of the others are not. I'd like some credit and warning if you intend to use any of the originals if you please. There, that's outta the way, on with the show.

**Chapter Two**

_Enter the Maester_

He slowly strolled to the balcony, listening to the panicking people come to and fro.

"Why all the ruckus?" Maester Seymour asked, knowing full well the turmoil outside.

"M-Maester!" The guard stammered, "Fiends have appeared in the stadium! Its pandemonium! We are doing all we can to keep the VIP Balcony safe, Your Eminence!"

"I see." The situation didn't worry the Maester. He heard someone approaching him and instantly recognized him. "I trust you heard all of that, Kinoc?"

Maester Kinoc nodded, "How did they get in in the first place? The Crusaders were assigned to guard this place. This smells like an assassination attempt if anything."

Seymour couldn't help but chuckle his deep melodious chuckle. Kinoc was always so paranoid, so unprepared to die. It reminded him of a saying: 'He who always looks behind them for the dagger usually gets stabbed from the front.' He smiled thinking of how appropriate that would be for Kinoc. "My friend," he began amiably, "You think too much on a mere trifle. Worry not, for I will take care of everything." Before waiting for his response, Seymour walked calmly past him to step outside to the balcony.

_Mother, _He thought, calling to his aeon, _you're only son calls for your help. Come and rid these annoyances from my sight._

**V**

Jonas shuddered. "Something's… someone's calling an aeon!" he said to his friends.

"Where? Where?" Arthas asked, darting his head back and forth and struggling to get to his feet. Before anyone else could speak, the sky darkened. The ground in front of the four darkened, forming into a swirling crimson portal. From thin air the chain and anchor plunged deep into the portal and began to pull something out.

What came from there brought Jonas to his knees. That…That creature, bound in chains, it was so grotesque, yet it looked so human-like. That eye…that one eye bound in the bandages, the skin, so withered. It looked like a creature that spent eons in eternal torture, and when it screamed-that inhuman, pained wail-a wave of nausea hit Jonas. The creature began attacking, and he felt it, felt the Aeon's pain and suffering. He saw fiends dieing, falling to its power, and wondered if they felt it too. Suddenly it was too much for Jonas. The last thing he heard was that ghostly keening as his head hit the ground and he faded from consciousness.

"_Dryd…dryd drehk!" _ The Al Bhed breathed, _"E fuimth'd fyhd du ryja du vekrd dryd!" _

Sain grabbed Jonas' arm and slung it over his shoulder. "I don't know what he just said, but I think I can agree with him. Arthas, give me a hand, willya?" Arthas grabbed the other arm and they both lifted him to his feet. "Poor Jonas," Sain mused, "He felt it just a little too acutely."

"Yeah," Arthas replied, "This has been quite a day; actually a pretty good one, if you consider were leavin' tomorrow, huh?"

Sain didn't say anything. The heavy feeling in the air was beginning to lift as the aeon began to return to its portal. Anima, he thought the name was. He had read on the fayth before, and it included an entry on this particular creature. Now, as the pained creature disappeared into oblivion, its impression stayed with him as a dull head ache. He thought of how powerful it was, the repercussions of standing so close to it, and the only thought he could offer himself was _I need to remind Jonas to acquire that one._

**V**

Seymour took the expected praise with dignity.

"A most excellent performance indeed." Grand Maester Mika warbled, "Though perhaps you were too hasty in calling your most powerful summoning, as you over estimated their strength."

"With all due respect," Seymour countered, "I did not wish to hold back when precious lives were at stake. Besides, it has been far too long since Anima was allowed out of her hole into the fresh air."

Kinoc nodded, "But there still is the matter of _how_ the fiends got into the stadium. I will send monks to investigate."

"There is no need." Seymour said his voice as even as ever, though somehow he managed to grasp the room's attention. "Why would you waste man-power finding that out?

Kinoc stared at him, talking like the answer was obvious, "That attack may very well have been an assassination attempt on us. For all we know those Al Bhed bastards may…"

"Be quite skilled with machina," Seymour interrupted, "But I don't think that manipulating fiends is in their skill sets." Seymour so enjoyed the look on Kinoc's face as he spoke, "Peace, Wen, just think about it: if it was an attempt on just our lives, it was too spaced out. I am sure the guards will tell you that no assassins entered in the chaos, so it wasn't a diversion. It would make more sense to coordinate the attack, and fiends aren't exactly what some would consider 'co-operative'."

"But, we still need to find out how it was perpetrated." Kinoc pointed out.

"If there are any noticeable qualities about you, it is your attention to detail, however, why can you not just let it remain a mystery. It is safe to assume that if an assassin or assassins were involved, they couldn't just cart that many monsters in unnoticed, so whoever you ask will most likely provide you with little or no information, so your best bet is to just prepare for your little operation at Mushroom Rock."

Kinoc was about to protest, but was stopped by the Grand Maester's words. "Maester Seymour has a point, Kinoc. He is smart, much like his father. Do not concern yourself with the fiends, and instead focus on Operation: Mi'hen."

The Maesters dispersed, and Seymour called for his subordinate when he was finally alone.

"Are all of the fiends gone?" Seymour inquired

"All of them were exterminated, Lord Seymour; you took the remaining out with your aeon."

"That is good; the last thing I need is evidence against me. Prepare my carriage for travel. I intend to go check in on that operation."

"Yes Lord Seymour, it will be prepared at once."


	4. Chapter Three: Our GoodByes

**Chapter Three**

_Our Good-Byes_

When Jonas finally woke up, he was back in his room. He looked outside, it was dark. How long was he out? He groggily rose to his feet and shuffled to the kitchen, hearing someone moving around there.

The person in the kitchen stepped out, a young lady not much older than Jonas. "Well, look who finally decided to get up!" she smiled, "Dinner's been ready for a while now, and I was kinda hoping you'd stay asleep so I could splash water on you like I always do."

Jonas laughed, "Sorry, sis, guess you didn't get to have any fun."

They ate their meal in general silence, as most of their dinners were. It wasn't from any family differences, it's just that Jonas was never good at starting conversations and his sister Adrienne never found anything interesting to talk about. Today was different, though. Adrienne put her utensils down and said, "Tomorrow."

Jonas nodded, knowing what she was talking about. He swallowed his bite, "Tomorrow" he repeated.

"Truth be told," Adrienne began, pushing her plate aside, "I can't tell whether I should pray you succeed, or pray that you fail.

"What are you talking about? Why would you want your own flesh and blood to fail?

"You know what'll happen if you succeed." She said simply, her hands strategically placed over her quivering lips.

Jonas sighed. He thought he was going to have to go through this with her sooner of later. "Look," he began, prepared to give the speech he had rehearsed in his head over and over. "You know my friends, Sain and Arthas? Arthas lost his mother to Sin, and Sain lost both of his parents. I… I wanna make a world where people like me can have peace of mind knowing their loved ones are safe from it." Adrienne was about to speak, but Jonas cut in, "I know the concept of my dieing isn't very plausible, but look at it this way: there are hundreds of summoners out there, probably better than I am, they are all after the same thing, so the chances I'll be the first is…" he trailed off, knowing this probably wasn't helping.

Adrienne finally piped up, picking up her fork, "If you end up dying and you bring the Calm," she said, her voice breaking, "I will understand that, and I can move on. But if you end up being killed by something trivial like a fiend or a stupid bandit…" she pointed her fork at him, her voice suddenly becoming angry, "I'll kill you! I don't care if you're already dead; I'll dig ya up, breathe like back inta ya, and then kill you again! Got it lil' bro?"

Jonas beamed, then threw his hands up in mock horror, "Oh no Sis!" he screamed, "Don't kill me with your fork of doom! I'm too young to die, come back then die again!"

Adrienne leapt from her seat and tackled Jonas to the ground, unmercifully tickling his little brother till he squirmed.

"Hey stop! Stop that!" Jonas protested between raucous laughter, tearing, "I'm a summon- hahahaha! I need… heeheehee… to be more hero like. Summoners don't… hohoho…. Get tickled."

The sound of his high pitched, frenzied laughter echoed through the night as the tension finally lifted in their house.

**V**

Arthas opened the door to his home and plopped down at the kitchen table, where his little brother was busy stabbing his meal with the fork. "Where's Adonis?" Arthas asked, grabbing a plate obviously meant for him.

"Upstairs," the child replied, not taking his eyes off his food, "With a lady."

That was all Arthas needed to hear. Arthas' older brother was more than a bit famous for knowing the names of all of the neighborhoods young ladies. He always boasted at having bedded ninety-nine women, though that was probably a lie, because he probably used that one boast ninety-nine times himself. Aramis (Whoever decided to give the three names that began with the same letter was anyone's guess.) Author's Note: (Clears throat) Arthas's younger brother, hopefully didn't know what "Upstairs with a lady" meant, but he was a sharp kid.

"You know," Aramis said, still engrossed on probing the food, "Things are gonna be different here with you gone."

"Different how exactly? It's not like I do anything important here."

"The food's gonna be lousy." Aramis remarked sourly.

"What?" Arthas laughed, "Come on, it can't be that bad, can it?"

Aramis picked up the plate and showed it to him, "Do you know what this is? Do you? 'Cause I don't. This barely looks edible, let alone good! It looks like a squatter monkey mud pie!"

Despite himself, Arthas couldn't help but laugh at the childish opinion of what looked like some kind of casserole. "Aramis," he said, blinking away tears, "Don't worry about it. I will be coming back, it's not like I'm going to some other country, and I'll try and drop you a line every now and then." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch of Gil. "Listen, When you finally can't stand Adonis' cooking, tell him to take you to some restaurant, my treat."

Aramis took the Gil, probably more than he had saved up and nodded. He then whipped his head to the open window. "What's wrong?" Arthas asked.

"I think… I just heard some kid being tickled to death."

**V**

Sain knelt before two markers, tombstones marking the burial sites of his parents:

Felix and Sierra Kontei

Crusader Chapter XXVII

Died before Lord Braska's Calm

Attacked by SinSpawn

Southern bank-Moonflow outside path

"Hi" Sain began, talking to the tombs, "I'm leaving, first light tomorrow. I know what you'd say. Mom would say, 'It's too dangerous. He can't fight Sin; my little boy is too weak and innocent blah-blah-blah' and Dad would be all, 'Let him go, Sierra. He's old enough to decide for himself. Let him go fight Sin, after all, that's how we met.' And than you'd get all romantic right in font of me, kissing and huggin'…" he shuddered, "Well, these guys are my friends, I've told you about them. Jonas wants to save the world and what not, so I'm going to help him. We-we're..." he trailed off, his attention wandering to the weirdest noise. Laughter? A little girl being tickled, perhaps? "We're going to bring the Calm again, you'll see." He stood and walked slowly to his home, relieved he didn't really have to argue with his parents.


	5. Chapter Four: The winds of Change

**Chapter Four**

_The winds of change_

Jonas' eyes snapped open and he sat up. _That dream_, he thought. He tried to remember what happened, but it was slipping his mind, becoming fuzzy in the transition from sleep to waking. Frustrated, he got up and dressed. He had been getting the same dream for a while now, that much he knew. He looked out his window; the sun was just beginning to come up, the sky tinged with pink on the horizon. He grabbed his bag and slowly shuffled out into the cool morning. It was definitely early; he could hear people just beginning to stir, others still dozing peacefully.

Jonas had eventually made it to the walkway that led to Mi'Hen, the sun already beginning to peek above the horizon by the time he lethargically trudged there. Sitting on the bench, he began thinking about what he was about to do. He yawned, "I shoulda shtayed ashleep." He slurred, chuckling at how much he sounded like a Hypello. "Mebbe I getta lil' eye-reshin' in b'fore I…I…" His head drooped and he dozed off.

**V**

"Arthas! Get up, now! C'mon, don't make me break this door down!"

Arthas opened his door, regarding his older brother quite grumpily, "Up all night, Adonis?"

The lanky man couldn't help but chuckle, "My sleepin' habits ain't your business. Get yourself dressed, one o' your friends is here. Got 'im waitin' in the dinin' room. Quit yer gawkin' and get down there."

The first thing Sain asked when Arthas finally came down was. "Please tell me that lady had nothing to do with you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Before you came down, some woman sat on the couch, sighed contentedly, and said something about last night. One can only assume that's not your sister so…"

Arthas figured out where he was going with this and vigorously shook his head. "No, no, that's not me, that's my brother."

"Aramis?"

"Aramis! No! He's only like ten!"

"Eight." Aramis corrected, yelling across the hall from his room.

"All right," Sain stood, "If you're ready to go, let's go."

"Yea," Arthas agreed, "I got my stuff together. Where's Jonas?"

"He's already at the gate. Let's go now before I find out more things about your family."

**V**

The carriage bounced along the Highroad, its passenger deep in thought. Maester Seymour Guado smiled. His plan was already set into motion. He had gained the other Maesters' trust with his display of power at Luca, and now he had only to focus on gaining the trust of one other person. Lady Yuna, daughter of High Summoner Braska. Although she was still a novice, still untrained in the summoning arts, she could be quite useful for getting all of Spira's attention. All he had to do was gain her trust, which would prove easy. _Young girls' emotions are so easy to manipulate_, Seymour speculated, _If I can play my cards right, I may even be able to become more than an ally to her._

He was so deep in thought, however, he was unaware that the carriage had stopped. His mind snapped back to reality, and he calmly stood and exited the cart. "Are we at the checkpoint already?" he drawled.

He wasn't. In front of the carriage was a small group of masked humans, swords drawn and voices threatening.

"Oy there!" the leader of the bandits demanded, "A'right! 'And over ya money 'n we may be lenient on ya!"

Seymour sighed and waved away his guards. "Highwaymen?" he began, his voice adopting that affable tone, "An admirable career."

"Oo asked ya, girly-man!" the bandit yelled, thinking he was being mocked, "Joost give us da money an' we'll let ya keep yer head!"

"You misunderstand, good sir." Seymour replied, "I merely point out the many dangers of robbing carts. Why, you never know when something like this may happen." He laughed his ever-disarming laugh, then his face darkened instantly and he began to mutter the powerful (Author's note: and slightly melo-dramatic) incantation. "Devastation Incarnate, with my power as your conduit…"

"Ee's castin'! Stop 'Im boys!" his men rushed forward to intercept the Guado. Seymour's guards made no move to guard him.

"…Send to my foes heaven's wrath and…" his voice became more forceful with every word he said as he nimbly dodged the thieves' weapons. "…offer them rest in the vast reaches of the FarPlane! Black Magic, Thundara!"

All the bandits stopped as the heard a silenced scream. The bandit leader, who had been foolish enough to stay in that one spot while his men tried to take Seymour, was now on the ground, charred beyond recognition, burned, lifeless eyes staring blankly into space. Terrified, the others fled back into the wilderness.

Seymour took a deep breath, sighed, and turned to his body guards. "Get the body off the road and prepare him for sending. I don't want him coming back as a fiend to annoy me."

"Yes sir, he will be prepared at once."

**V**

"Jonas! Jonas, wake up! Jonas!"

Arthas shook Jonas violently, trying to wake him up. "Uh?" Jonas slurred, still asleep. "No, no more panincakes fer me. Jusht give meh the house beeeeeeeeer… Ish it n' earth-shakey?" he giggled, "Atenshion pass'n'gers firsht furry non shtop ta Zanerkind! Ride ze shoopuff?" and the rest was incoherent muttering and giggling.

"Darn it!" Arthas stood and shrugged his shoulders resignedly, "I can't get him to wake up."

Adrienne took a good look at her snoozing brother, "Splash water on him, it always works for me."

"All right," Sain stepped forward, "I got it." He cracked open his book, leafed over to the right page, and muttered some incantation. A sphere of water appeared over Jonas' head and landed with a loud _Ker-Splash!_

"THE SHOOPUFF'S SINKING!" Jonas cried, leaping from his seat, "EVERYBODY GET… out… before you, um… hi guys." He blushed a bright red as he got his stuff together.

Everyone who knew the trio had assembled outside the city gates to give one last good bye to them.

"Good luck you three!"

"Remember where you came from! You can always come back!"

Adonis' voice rang out the loudest, "You'd better find a girl out there bro!"

Second was probably Adrienne, "The same for you too! And you'd better not forget the fork!"

It took a little while, but enough good-byes were said that Jonas, Arthas and Sain could reluctantly set out on their journey across Spira.

"This is it guys!" Arthas cried, "Today, all of Spira will be changed; we're gonna make history!"

"Calm down, Art." Sain admonished, "We haven't even gotten a hundred yards from Luca yet." He turned to Jonas, "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"'You'd better not forget about the fork?'" he asked, quoting Jonas' sister.

Jonas only chuckled and said, "Long story."


	6. Chapter Five:Cleaning House

**Chapter Five**

_Cleaning House_

"We're lost, you know that, right."

The trio moved down the Oldroad, Jonas leading the way, "Are we? Is it that bad? I thought we were on the right path…" He said, looking back and forth for the trail.

"Put it this way." Sain explained, pointing straight up to the top of the cliffs. His voice became more irritated as he spoke. "You see up there? Way up on top of this little canyon? That was the path we were originally walking on. How in Yevon's name you got us all the way down here is anyone's guess, but the fact of the matter is, you have managed to take us on a detour that miraculously ended us up _at the bottom of a freaking ravine!"_

"Hey!" Arthas piped up, "What're ya gettin' all worked up for? We'll just head back until we're higher up."

Sain was just about to argue, when his words were cut short by a piercing scream coming from behind him. "That was a woman's scream." He said, though Arthas had already pushed past him by the time he had made that observation. He and Jonas brought up the rear with Arthas barreling straight ahead.

The woman was cornered at the canyon wall, eyes bulging at the gigantic creature closing on her. It was all battered and bruised, and one of its enormous arms hung limply and trailed behind him as he plodded. _"Ramb sa!" _she pleaded, _"E's kuehk du tea!" _The fiend pulled its good arm back and stopped. Something was coming, some kind of screeching fiend. He was confused; was a squatter monkey attacking here? Before his simple mind could ponder it further, he felt a sharp pain in his trailing arm. He whipped around; one of those pink-skins was stabbing his arm. He roared and snapped for him, but the annoying little creature leapt off at the last second, and he got a mouthful of his already sore arm.

Arthas took a step back as the fiend roared in pain. "Sain!" he called out, "Torch him, freeze him something! Jonas! Get her away! We can keep this overgrown lizard busy for a while."

Jonas nodded and ran to the woman's side, trying to calm her down. Sain, more than a little peeved at Arthas' spat as group leader, still opened his spellbook and muttered the first cantrip he saw.

_Three males, _thought the fiend. He hadn't had much luck with pink-skins lately. He saw them all moving at once, one moving towards him, one breaking off to his prey, and one who stood still, staring at some weird object. His mind became flustered, and he jumped to his original target.

"Miss, please try to calm down." Jonas tried to reason with the inconsolable young lady, "We need to get you out of here quick before…" His face drained of color as he felt hot, moist air on his back. The creature towered over the pair, gave a long, triumphant roar. Arthas scrambled to get to them, and managed to close the gap halfway when the fiend attacked.

Time stopped. Jonas had heard about time slowing down in situations like this, but this was ridiculous. He could move normally, but he noticed no one else could. The fiend, the lady, Arthas and Sain weren't moving.

"Pathetic"

Jonas spun around at the armored warrior that calmly walked to him. He towered over the summoner, around twice his height and three times the width, and was dressed in Japanese armor far too ornate for the average samurai. "Y-Yojimbo?" Jonas asked, incredulous.

"The one and only kid. Can't believe I have to step in for you. However, I owe you one after that incident at Luca, so…"

He drew his sword and stood in front of the still frozen fiend. He got into a defensive stance, sword held diagonally in front of its face, just as the effects wore off. (Or when he turned it off, Jonas could never tell which.)

The fiend was overjoyed: the prey was frozen with fear, the other males were across the clearing. It seemed perfect, until he got a sword across his mouth. The Aeon slashed, leaving a crimson trail on its face as it backed up screaming.

The woman reacted at around the same time as the aeon appeared. She reached into her belt loop and pulled out a silver revolver. The creature bust into flame as Sain finished his spell. _Crack! _The gun fired off, hitting the immolated fiend where its ear would be. Arthas got the last blow, leaping at his opponent with sword drawn and scoring a solid his in its chest. The creature flailed on its back, roaring in pain, and then finally fell limp.

Arthas sheathed his weapon at the very instant the woman ran up to her, giving him a big hug and chattering excitedly in Al Bhed.

Arthas turned to the woman and drawled, _"Lyms tuzh yht damm sa fryd rybbahat" _The lady nodded, surprised to hear him talk in her language.

Jonas and Sain, oblivious to the other two, took a good look at the body.

"It's a Chocobo Eater." Sain explained, "From what I can tell from it, it was pretty beat up before we ever got here." He pointed to a large bruise on it's back.

Jonas dismissed his Aeon after profuse thanks. "So you think the lady did it?"

Sain shook his head, "Couldn't be, not if that machina weapon was the only thing she had with her. It looks like something big hit it, or he hit something big. My guess is he fell from a pretty big height." He pointed to cuts on the body, "These ones aren't natural; these are sword marks here, and it looks like some kind of stabbing object was used over here." He looked at Jonas, "I think this fiend was engaged by other humans, possibly Crusaders or a cadre of elite guards."

Jonas was quite impressed by the time Sain had finished his description, "How do you know all this?"

Sain couldn't mask the boyish smile creeping across his face, "I know a few things about bodies." He remarked modestly.

Arthas approached with the Al Bhed lady, "Her name is Zafam" Arthas explained, "She says she is a white mage, and she wants to help us." He then switched over to Al Bhed, _"Oui tet cyo oui fyhdat du ramb?" _ Zafam nodded meekly.

"She's Al Bhed?" Jonas asked.

"Yes."

"_You _speak Al Bhed?" Sain raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think my free time is nothing but naps and fights?"

Sain was about to argue, but Jonas interrupted with, "Well, I think it's a good idea, but only if she agrees to not use that machina of hers."

"What?" Sain burst, "But she's an Al Bhed. What're people going to say when they find out you have a heathen in tow?"

Jonas waved his concerns away, "I was taught you don't refuse help, no matter how small. Heathen or no, if she can offer help and she is willing to assist a summoner, than I cannot refuse."

When Arthas translated to Zafam, she beamed, chattering again her thanks.

"Fine," Sain huffed, "If we hurry, we may get to an inn before nightfall."

The quartet went back along the path, their new ally trailing close behind the warrior.


	7. Chapter Six:Not a protagonist in sight

**Chapter Six**

_And not a protagonist in sight…_

Morning rose at last, and Adrienne was the first up. She walked out to the Highroad and watched the sun rise. She was conflicted; she missed her little brother already. She remembered Jonas practicing that same speech by himself one day, those exact words, and they couldn't convince her then. So why did she let him go?

While she was busy pondering this, a fiend eyed her from the wilderness. It saw an opportunity; the pack wasn't around, so he was looking at a free meal. Without a second thought, the fiend growled and charged.

Adrienne couldn't react fast enough. She stepped to the side, but the fiend snapped down on her leg. Screaming, she was dragged off the road. She lashed out with her free leg and caught it in the nose, which made the fiend let go for a little while. She stood and tried to escape, but she knew it wouldn't make a difference as she limped. The fiend was already closing in, she was too…

"Fang!"

A figure got between Adrienne and the jumping wolf and punched it in the chest, sending it flying backward. "A lovely vixen like you shouldn't be bleeding like that. It's ain't very lovely." The man said without turning.

"Who…are you?"

He moved forward without answering, sending a few solid kicks into the creatures chest. He stomped on its head a few times for good measure, and then rose to his full height. He turned to the woman, and his face softened. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, trying to ignore the blood on him. She tried to stand up- when did she fall? - but winced and thought better of it. "Who are you?" she asked again.

The lanky man approached her, squatting to be at eye level with her, and flashed his signature warm smile. "Adonis Orion, your friendly neighborhood knight in shining armor."

**V**

Seymour stopped the carriage. "Where is the summoner now?" he asked the nearest bodyguard.

"Lord Seymour, her entourage has decided to stay another day at the local travel agency. Should we go ahead to the gate?"

Seymour waved the thought off, "We cannot; it is important that Lady Yuna head to the gate first."

"Yes sir. Should we ask for a room so you may lodge indoors?"

He waved it off again, "Take the carriage to someplace hidden. My plans hinge on her not seeing me. I'll sleep outside to that extent."

That night, the Maester's dreams were troubled. The scene unfolded in his head like it always did. First was Bevelle, burning to the ground, then Luca, a smoking husk of what it was. The temples were razed, islands were decimated, people fled, and all the while a prominent figure was there, a shapeless black form in the sky.

A voice called him, "This is what you will cause! They have lived in their security for far too long. You will become Sin, and you will destroy them all in cold blood, just like you did your own father!"

Seymour awoke the next morning and stepped out of his cart.

"Maester!" The guard saluted, "I trust you slept well."

Seymour smiled, "Very well in fact. Come; let's catch up to Lady Yuna."

**V**

Adonis had neatly wrapped the wound. "What'd you think you were doin' out here?" he asked, "Lil' lady like you shouldn't be out by their lonesome."

Adrienne winced, "I just came out here for some thinking. What about you? I don't think you'd have a reason to be out this early."

Adonis made a dramatic motion with his hands, "Oh, you know how we heroes work. We appear when were in dire need, showing up in the nick of time to save the lovely…"

"You followed me." She translated, her irritation mingling with slight amusement.

Adonis through his hands up in indignity, "Ma'am, I am deeply offended you'd even suggest such a…"

"Am I right?" she interrupted again.

This time it was Adonis' turn to wince, "Don't be angry. I was just concerned, ya know? A lovely maiden like yerself shouldn't be walkin' round without an escort in dangerous country like this. It ain't like I'm trying to be creepy or nuffin' but…"

Adrienne interrupted once more, holding one finger up, "I'll let it slide, because I'd probably been eaten if you hadn't been there. Thanks by the way."

"Hey, it's what I do. If you could do me a favor, though, I'd like to grace this lovely presence with a name."

A blush came to her face. Had he been hitting on her the entire time? "My…name's Adrienne."

Adonis smiled his completely disarming smile, "Well, Adrienne, we should get to town before this one's buddies miss 'em." Without another word or warning, he grabbed and picked up the woman and carried her back looking like a pair of newly-weds. She resisted at first, squirming around a little, but then decided she was safer with this man than a pack of wolves.


	8. Chapter 7: He just don't get paid enough

**Chapter Seven**

_Fostering sympathy for armed guards…_

Seymour took a deep breath as he approached the gate. Just as he had planned, Lady Yuna's group was first to arrive, and were stopped there. Despite himself, a smile crept over his face as the young woman regarded him. "Lady Yuna?" he said, feigning surprise like he had rehearsed, "It is nice to finally meet you, though you seem troubled."

"Well…" the summoner hesitated, her gaze unconsciously moving to the gate.

"Yes, of course, I understand." Seymour walked to the guard posted there without another word.

"Maester Seymour!" the guard saluted, "Please, this way to Mushroom Rock."

"Just a minute." Seymour said, halting the guard in mid turn, "I have a request. The summoner behind me and her guardians, I would like them escorted to the command center, if that is not too much trouble."

"But…but Maester," the guard protested, "I have express orders from Maester Kinoc that no…"

"With all due respect," Seymour interrupted, masterfully hiding his irritation, "I gave you an order as well. All I ask is that you let them through, no one else." He raised his finger to stem the sentry's further arguments, "Trust me, I will take care…of everything."

The guard hesitated, then saluted and stood aside without another word, "It is done, friends." Yuna bowed in respect, but the Maester's attention was pulled away by one of the guardians, a young blond man scowling at him. Seymour smiled wider, assuming that stare was one of jealousy, and turned to silently saunter off the Highroad. Yuna's cadre followed close behind, unaware of the third group that marched from the Oldroad.

"_Ooooooohhhhh… E ys payd!" _Zafam complained, though only Arthas showed a hint of sympathy, being the only one who understood her.

"Jonas," he said, "Do ya think we could slow down at some point? Zafam's getting tired, and so am I."

Jonas was admittedly tired himself, "We'll find somewhere to rest after we get past the checkpoint."

Sain pulled ahead, "Well then, let's get past the checkpoint. The sooner the better, I guess." He approached the guard, "Please stand aside, my good man. We're a summoner's party."

"Sorry kid, no one's allowed past here except the Crusaders."

"You're kidding!" Sain raised an eyebrow, "You just allowed a summoner and her guardians past you. You can't honestly tell me that wasn't."

The guard shook his head, "That was an exception. Look, don't make this any harder for me, kid. I've had to deal with every belly-achin' summoner and their grandma, I've been getting orders that conflict each other… Listen, normal travel through this road will resume after we're done with the Operation up ahead. Now step aside before I lose whatever's left of my patience with you."

Sain walked back to the group, livid, "That stupid guard's got the way blocked, and now no one can get through. No one except that special group of course!"

Zafam's eyes widened, _"Aaaaaahhh! Hud kuut! Hud kuut!" _

Arthas tried to calm her down, _"Fryd? Fryd ec hud kuut?"_

A few minutes of frantic chattering ensued. Sain and Jonas exchanged glances as Arthas' face in turn grew more concerned.

"Well?" Sain asked when Arthas turned to face them.

"She says she's got a 'feeling'." He explained.

"A 'feeling'?" Both wizard and summoner said at once.

"Yea, don't ask me, but she says she thinks something bad's gonna happen just ahead. She says that she has been able to sense danger when it comes, and she's worried 'cause so many people are over there."

"Able to sense danger, huh?" Sain remarked with incredulence, "Yes, it's done her so much good up until now, especially with that fiend." Arthas winced, glad that the woman behind her couldn't understand. Sain sighed, "So what are we going to do about it Jonas? Given the circumstances, I'd rather enjoy annoying that guard to get past him."

Jonas thought it over for a while, partially dreading what he was about to say next. "We can't just stay here if people are in trouble. Still, unless we can get past the guard without starting too much, we're out of luck."

Sain smiled evilly, "Leave the guard to me guys."

**V**

The guard sneered, "What is it this time, kid?" he spat to Sain as he began to approach again, "I ain't letting ya pass, so you'd better not…"

"Peace," Sain began, trying to placate the older man, "I just wished to apologize for my callous behavior earlier. Also, I was wondering if you could help settle a little argument myself and my friends here were having."

"An argument?" The irate vigil replied, "It ain't my job to settle measly squabbles. Get out of my face before I am forced to remove you myself."

"Peace!" Sain repeated, hands held in a dismissive gesture, "I assure you it won't take too much of your time, and I'm sure I can make it worth the trouble." Without further delay, he reached for a bag of Gil and held it in front of the guard. He simply responded by pushing the wizard's hand aside and saying, "Keep your money and make it quick, kid."

Sain nodded, secretly glad he hadn't looked into the sack. He tucked his spell components away and continued. "Well, you see…" he began, "During our travels, some colleagues of mine found a most unusual glyph." He knelt to the ground and began etching it in the dirt, explaining, "I told them that the glyph must stand for some kind of ancient city, but they insist that is must be related to a feind." He stood from his crude work, the symbol for water on the ground, "What do you think?"

Sain wasted no time. While the guard bent down to examine the glyph, Sain recited a low key version of a spell. At his command, the nearby brush went into light. Convincing acting did the rest, "Sir!" he called out, "There is a fire! Over there in the bushes!"

The Crusader spun about, cursing and stamping at the flames. Sain took action too, the second cantrip already flying from his lips. His foot unconsciously slid to the drawn glyph, which reacted to the spell, and soon that same brush, as well as the poor Crusader, was doused in water. Of course, while this was happening, the other three had made a quick rush into the gate. Sain ran too before the unfortunate guard had a chance to recover.

"Hey! Get back here, you rotten kids!" The guard chased them for a short while, but eventually stopped, "I don't get paid enough for this…" he grumbled as he shuffled back to his post.


	9. Chapter Eight: Prelude to Destruction

**Chapter Eight**

_Prelude to destruction_

Seymour smiled warmly as Yuna's party finally caught up with him. "Well now, I was worried that the fiends had gotten you, Lady Yuna."

Another hard stare from the blond guardian. That one was really getting on the Maester's nerves. He just hoped he wouldn't have to deal with him like he would Kinoc.

"Maester Seymour." One of the other guardians-Wakka, the intelligence said- spoke up, "Why is your lordship presently… present here?"

Seymour chuckled, "Please, my good man, there is no need for formality here. Simply address me as you normally would."

"Ok then," Wakka seemed relieved, "Why are you supporting the Al Bhed in this operation."

The way he mentioned the Al Bhed brought a further smile to the Maester's face, "Because, both the Crusaders and these Al Bhed only want peace for Spira. Though their methods may be different, as are their beliefs, they both truly wish to work for the greater good. And I, Seymour Guado, the person, not the Maester of Yevon… as a denizen of Spira, I wish them well." When he was done, he didn't have to fake his happiness when he saw Yuna moved by his little speech. Everything was falling into place perfectly.

"But," Wakka chimed in, "Using the Machina? Isn't that bad?"

Seymour nodded, "Yes, so pretend you didn't see it." He said, as though it was simple to do.

"Begging your pardon, sir, but that doesn't seem to be something a Maester should be saying."

Now Seymour was getting annoyed with the man, "It probably isn't, so perhaps you should pretend I didn't say it." He walked off, leaving them shocked.

**V**

The quartet tried to make themselves look like they blended in as they made their way through Mushroom Rock Road. They had stopped to admire the force gathered.

"_Machina?!?" _Zafam broke off from the group, nearly drooling over the assortment of cannons.

Sain sighed, "Are we _certain _that she didn't tell us to come here so she could fawn over Machina weapons?" His gaze followed the Al Bhed lady as she began chatting with the technicians. "It would appear she has already forgotten the imminent danger."

Arthas sighed as well, "You guys go on ahead, and I'll go pick her up." He walked up to Zafam and began coaxing her to leave.

(Author's Note: The following is Al Bhed translated into English.)

"_Zafam, come on, we can't stay here."_

"_Ohhhhh, but take a look at this, Arty!"_

"_Arty?"_

"_It's so cool! Why, I bet this cannon could tear apart a solid concrete wall if you let it. How does it work?" _She asked the technician _"Is it a fuse activated, or is there a switch? Oh what I wouldn't give to take this apart…"_

The engineer gave Arthas a look of confusion, to which Arthas simply shrugged.

"_Zafam…" _Arthas coaxed, getting an idea, _"I bet there's even bigger Machina just down the coast."_

"_Really?" _Zafam looked up at him with hope.

"_Uh… yeah. Maybe some of those self-propelled tank Machina with the giant cannons and all those little flying scout droids and… Hey!" _Zafam grabbed Arthas' arm, and with uncharacteristic strength, half-led, half-dragged the warrior down the beach.

(End Translation. For future reference, _italics _signify conversation in Al Bhed.)

Sain turned around, "It's about time you two. Did you have fun by your…" The wizard stopped as Zafam led Arthas past Jonas and Sain.

"No time," Arthas explained, "She's gonna see the big Machina."

Jonas shrugged, then followed them. Sain shook his head, "Al Bhed." He remarked sourly, "More concerned with machines than people… guys! Wait up!"

**V**

It sped through the endless expanse of ocean. Fish, fiends, and even the occasional boat was swept aside as it plowed endlessly to its final destination.

Somewhere, miles away, one of its own had been captured. The humans were planning to use it to draw him into a trap. They thought he could be defeated, better yet they thought they can use machina to do it.

How many foolish humans would die today? Sin cried out in delight and sped on, knowing the slaughter would begin in mere minutes.


	10. Chapter Nine: Annihilation Incarnate

**Chapter Nine**

_Annihilation Incarnate_

"_Zafam! Slow down! You're gonna take my arm off here!"_

Arthas was still pleading with the Al Bhed woman as she led him roughly along the coast, poring over all the machina that was set around here.

"_Oh…but Arty!" _Zafam complained, _"Aren't they so cool? All these machina just lying there! Ohhhhh! You see that! That's an YX-27! You don't even see those drones anymore and…" _She stopped suddenly, her face pale and her eyes wide.

"_Zafam?" _Arthas asked, _"What's wrong? Is it the machina? 'Cause I can't…"_

"_It's coming!" _Zafam turned to the warrior, _"The bad, bad feeling! It's coming!"_

"_What? Oh, no, we have to find the others!" _Arthas turned to look behind him, "Damn, where's Jonas? Where's Sain? That's not good! _Zafam, let's get…" _Zafam was firmly rooted in place, blind fear preventing her from moving. _"Zafam! Zafam! Come on, we can't stay here! Zafam, we gotta move! Zafam!"_

**V**

It could hear it.

The beast could hear the primal screams of pain, welling from its own children. He heard the drone of machina as they prepared to fire, heard the cries of men as they prepared to silence it. But under those sounds, were the sounds of fear. That the behemoth creature couldn't hear, but he knew that they existed. The humans' shallow breath, their racing hearts, their sweat hitting the sand before they even made a motion. It would have sent shivers up its spine, were it a different beast, but Sin was no normal beast.

Granted, there was one human who still angered him. It was so… inconvenient to have to use a human soul for its body, and this one was particularly oppositional. No matter, he had not the strength to oppose it for long, and it would be no slight for what lied ahead.

The screams have gotten louder, its child was crying for it. With a hearty cry of exuberance, he broke the surface at last, showing those pitiful humans the face of Death itself.

Let them cower, for they gazed upon the face of Sin!

**V**

"Fire!"

Zafam was pulled out of her daze by the sounds of cannons, but she still could not bring her gaze away from that colossus in the water. She was blind to her surroundings, not even aware of the person leading her along, calling her name repeatedly. She fell to her knees, tears welling in her eyes, _"He is coming," _she sobbed, _"Everyone here will die… he is coming…"_

"_Zafam, get up!" _Arthas pleaded, _"We're not safe here; we need to get out! Zafam, please get up! _Damn it! She's not listening! I can't just drag her…" Arthas looked out to sea as well, but his attention was affixed lower down, to the coast, where fiends were beginning to float to the shore. Arthas drew his sword, _"Zafam! Zafam! Get up! Damn you, get up now, quit your belly-achin' and get up! We gotta go! Zafam!"_

Zafam looked up. Who was this man? She knew she should remember… Why is he just standing there? Doesn't he see that death is coming? Why is he yelling? He should just leave… is he waiting for someone?

"_Zafam!" _Arthas yelled again, _"Come on! I can't leave you here! Let's go, we need to get out of here!"_

He was waiting for her? Arthas! He was waiting for her! They were both going to die if she…

The fiends were closing in, Arthas held the sword level, but knew he couldn't stop them all _and_ keep Zafam safe. _"Zafam!" _

_CRACK!_

The fiends recoiled, one of them with a fresh new bullet hole between its eyes. Zafam stood, revolver raised and smoking. _"I can take down five more fiends before having to reload. What about you?" _she said calmly, smiling wide.

Arthas burst out laughing, _"As many as we need to kill before we can get out safely, and mine doesn't need no reloading."_

_Crack! _Another fiend recoiled, the bullet finding a home in its chest, _"You can boast after we get out, deal?"_

Arthas nodded, turning around to begin the slow, steady march to the other side, shooting and slashing as they went.

**V**

**(A/N: This next part is pretty serious. Just fair warning, this section is not for the faint hearted et cetera…)**

Sain laughed a loud maniacal laugh. "Destruction incarnate cast my enemies in your broiling embrace and leaved them withered husks in the twisting nether!" He held his hand out, palm open, and a great line of fire erupted forth. The creatures had no time to get away, and Sain took sick pleasure in watching them scream, thrash, and finally curl up and die. "Nyahahahahahahahaaaaaa!" He wasn't done just yet. More of them were coming, "Devastation incarnate, with my power as your conduit, send to my foes heaven's wrath and offer them rest in the vast reaches of the FarPlane!" Fiends scattered and ran as lightning bolts rained down on the battlefield.

Those that strayed from the group were singled out. They usually didn't survive the first blast.

"AAhahahahahahahaaa!" He reached into his sack and pulled a few components out. Muttering frantically, he tossed the components into the air, where it ignited and landed into another group of fiends with deadly ignition. He continued to walk on, taking great pleasure in the monsters running about, burst into flames and spending their last agonizing moments panicked and yipping.

It was so easy! He was all alone, with the exception of a few Crusaders, and those who were alive were in no position to argue with his methods.

A few burned fiend corpses here…

Some unfortunate non-aquatic monsters slowly drowned…

Keep them coming Sin! He had found no end to the sport!

Fiends limping about on hopelessly frozen limbs, waiting for the carrion birds…

Paralyzed monsters still crackling with electricity, their lungs unable to draw breath.

"_NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHH!"_

**V**

**(A/N: For those of you who took my warning, I hereby lift the sicko with a spell book alert. Thank you for your patronage. I would like to apologize if you found that bad, but that's the point. I'll tone down the corny laugh)**

It had allowed the humans to live for far too long. The human host had already given up on his pointless resistance. It was time…

They had fired a large weapon on him, what the people of Zanarkand called a plasma weapon. The fools. Did they earnestly believe they could stop it with a few men and a thousand year old weapon not useful then? He extended his energy and as easily as he would crush and insect, the weapon fired no more…

It was time. He extended his energy again, this time his targets being the foolish humans who deigned to fight Sin.

**V**

Jonas hid in a nook in the canyon wall. This was insane! Why was he even here? They didn't allow people past the gate, and this was why! I mean look at it! That was Sin, _the _Sin! He couldn't possibly be able to… to…

"_**I wanna make a world…"**_

He rose, his words ringing in his head. Why did he hide now? People died while he cowered in a corner.

"…_**where people like me can have peace of mind…"**_

How many people died today? How many died here with the promise that they would defeat Sin this day?

"…_**knowing our loved ones…"**_

He locked his hands in prayer, calling upon the only power he had.

"…_**are safe…from it."**_

And all the chaos stopped. Fiends stopped their jumps, swords halted mid-swing. Even Sin, looming ominous in the background, was forced to yield as the fayth.

Yojimbo calmly ambled behind the summoner, "Been a while." He rumbled, "What do you want, kid?"

Jonas sighed, "People are dying out here."

"People die everywhere, kid, what do you want me to do about it?"

"I want to protect them, but I can't do it on my own strength."

"And of course, being the hero, it suddenly falls that you're allowed to call for someone to fight _for_ you when it gets too hard?" Yojimbo admonished.

Jonas had no answer. He simply stared out over the freeze frame destruction.

"Listen, kid, I may not be able to help you on this one." Yojimbo said, in a tone as close as he could muster to apologetic.

Jonas looked at him, not shocked, but confused, "Why not?"

Because, as soon as I let the world go, I will have to protect you."

Before he could elaborate further, he calmly moved in front of Jonas, facing the sea and the colossal beast waiting there. The world was returned to normal, and instantly Jonas was hit with a wall of pure energy. To his horror, man, fiend, machina, everything! They all disappeared, vaporized, with no trace they were even there. The change was so drastic that he didn't realize Yojimbo was no longer standing in front of him. Was he dead? No the fayth don't die, he could still feel his presence.

It was only when the cries of the mortally wounded finally reached his ears that the full weight of the situation hit him.

He was a weak teenager, alone, without an aeon to shield him, in a field of death, staring face to face with Spira's oldest and deadliest enemy…


End file.
